Screaming Mimi Kids

I'm Patrick and I make comics! I just got my MFA in Comics from the California College of the Arts. This is the home of my new webcomic 'Screaming Mimi Kids'. If you want to see some of my other stuff, check out my website: patricklaycomics.com

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PAGE 63-

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  

Music-

Follow Me

Instagram: Plutarian_2

Twitter: @plutarian_2

Podcast: soundcloud.com/pwbpod

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PAGE 62- It’s very emotional in here today. Eh, let’s face it, it is always emotional at Screaming Mimi Kids. 

It’s been a real roller-coaster week, I’ve been working on mostly freelance design and commission stuff, which I allllmost don’t have enough time for, so I might have to scale back or raise my rates? Either way, this week I gotta kick out some more SMK so we have updates into March. 

Haven’t watched anything too exciting in the past week, but I’ve been listening to Mission to Zyxx, which is a sci-fi, improv, comedy podcast and that has been fun. I’m not falling about the place laughing every episode, but it sounds like tremendous fun to do, and that is fun to listen to. 

I started a Ko-Fi, so if you want to help me get to conventions this year, or just like SMK and feel like throwing a few bucks my way, check me out here:

Ko-fi.com/plutarian_2

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Mission to Zyxx, How Did This Get Made, My Brother, My Brother and Me, Voyage to the Stars, Up First

Music- Chelsea Wolfe, King Woman, Daughter, Jenny Lewis, Olafur Arnalds, the Milk Carton Kids, Marriages

Follow Me

Instagram: Plutarian_2

Twitter: @plutarian_2

Podcast: soundcloud.com/pwbpod

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PAGE 61- Oh man, it’s a paaacked, packed week. Ok, the media things are these:

Happy Death Day 2 U- enjoyed it! Didn’t love it, I really liked the first one and I can’t say enough how engaging, funny, and surprising Jessica Rothe is in the originial.  She is still great in the sequel, but it veers off and does different things with different people for hunks which...I dunno, I didn’t need. But it did some weirdo stuff that was interesting. 

Alita: Battle Angel- man, this movie just kept getting in it’s own way.  The dialogue was stilted and stiff, there were at least 3 different movie concepts in it and in the end I didn’t feel like any of it paid off, because it set up for a sequel. Buuuuuut, the fighting was fun! and the effects weren’t bad. I really like Rosa Salazar so I hope we get to see more of her in the future. 

Lastly, a ton of doom metal recently. I might be headed towards a pop swing but right now I am feeling the dark and gloomy and slow. 

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Mission to Zyxx, How Did This Get Made, My Brother, My Brother, and Me, The McElroy Brothers Will Be in Troll 2, Up First

Music- Olafur Arnalds, White Lies, Hauschka, Marriages, Death Grips, Primitive Man, Dragged Into Sunlight, Charly Bliss, Bell Witch, Elsiane

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

Podcast: soundcloud.com/pwbpod

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PAGE 60- It’s snowing again! Big ol’ fluffy flakes!

It’s been a mild week for me, got a few projects wrapped up, still a ways to go on others, but there is always Screaming Mimi Kids to work on.  We saw Lego Movie 2 and really enjoyed it. Next week is Happy Death Day 2U and Alita which...I’ll be honest, I hope is good. Not a high hope, but still. Anywhoo, always more comic coming, so keep on reading!

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Mission to Zyxx, Adventure Zone, My Brother, My Brother, and Me, Up First, All Songs Considered, LeVar Burton Reads, Limetown, Graphic Novel TK

Music-White Lies, Grimes, Hauschka, Bell Witch, Elsiane, Bear’s Den, Charly Bliss, Kate Bush, School of Seven Bells, Bobbie Gentry, Lord Huron, Olafur Arnalds, Scenic Route to Alaska

Follow Me

Instagram: Plutarian_2

Twitter: @plutarian_2

Podcast: soundcloud.com/pwbpod

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PAGE 59- I may not always have a blog post ready when these go up, but I will always have the page ready, dang it! It’s another late blog post, but better than nothing I say.  

We saw Into the Spider-verse a second time and it was still just excellent. I had read an article about Fisk in the movie and how he is a working opposite to the ‘Great power means great responsibility’ trope in Spider-Man movies. Fisk in the film is all power, being used irresponsibly. It’s a wonderful theme, partially because it’s Fisk’s specifically.  Miles and the rest of the spider-folk aren’t wrestling with responsibility, they all know exactly what they should be doing with their powers and they want to do that stuff. Fisk is the one that won’t accept that he should be behaving better, and he dooms himself across all realities because he won’t change the thing that was actually wrong. Ugh, just so excellent. 

Anyways, lot of great music this week as well, I’d highly recommend anything on the list for a listen. 

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  How Did This Get Made, Writing Excuses, MBMBAM, All Songs Considered, KEXP Music that Matters, Switchblade Sisters

Music- Hater, Kelso, Little Green Cars, Royal Canoe, Lula Wiles, Eerie Wanda, CONAN, Rayland Baxter, Burial, Toro y Moi

Follow Me

Instagram: Plutarian_2

Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 58- Hello! It’s a beautiful, cold, glittery-snow day in Ohio and I hope you are enjoying whatever weather you have.  I wanted to make sure I announce here that I will be at DiNK-Denver this year with @meggietheramm and I will be at the Alaska Robotics Mini-Con and Comics Camp again!  Meggie and I will have some hard choices to make as new shows come up, based on what we can afford to make it to, but if you want to help alleviate that I am open for commissions!

Portraits start at $40 and we can talk about anything custom you’d like to do! Recently I’ve done some portraits for fashion folks, wearing very specific shoes, hats, and sweaters and I just finished my first Magic: The Gathering play-mat. E-mail me! [email protected] (or just send me $5 via paypal and I will hit you back with a sketch, same e-mail address. 

I’ve been listening to a lot of music this week and I am still working on the Todd May book, so no new media reports.  

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Up First, Writing Excuses, Limetown, The Adventure Zone, MBMBAM, Song Exploder, How Did This Get Made?

Music- Miya Folick, Dan Mangan, Swae Lee, Boogie, Bring Me The Horizon, Buke & Gase, Maggie Rogers, Manchester Orchestra, Phoebe Bridgers, Oh Land, Sigur Ros, French Montana

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 57- It snowed so much! Really, it only snowed like, 7 or 8 inches, but it came down fast annnnnnd I got my car stuck in the snow at 1:30 in the morning. I was very lucky a guy heading to work with the railroad came by in god’s largest SUV and gave me a ride, but I still had to walk 20 minutes home from the place he dropped me off. Long story short, those snow emergency levels are for real guys! If you are driving through multiple counties, pay attention to all of ‘em!

Anywho. I have started reading a book by Todd May, a philosopher who contributes to ‘The Good Place’, so that is very fun. It is about creating a meaningful life in a meaningless universe and it really makes me want to try to fold all of my interest in philosophy the past few years into a comic of some sort.  I dunno, maybe one day.  

I finished a few commissions this week and talked to some folks about a few more, but time is really getting constrained. Especially since I will be heading to DiNK and Alaska Robotics Mini-Con this year, it just feels like a lot is going on. Oh, I will be at DiNK this year, yay!

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Happy Face, Planet Money, Hidden Brain, Up First, The Adventure Zone, My Brother, My Brother and Me, Graphic Novel TK, All Songs Considered, and KEXP Music that Matters

Music- Keaton Henson, Dazzle Vision, Buke and Gase, Angelo De Augustine, Soak, Active Bird Community, Graves at Sea, Daath, Manchester Orchestra

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 56- Hello! It’s been a while since I got a full blog post up and I’m really glad to be back! From September til the end of 2018 it was just one thing after another and it really ate into my time, but I am feeling much more settled and a lot closer to finishing several projects and building up a buffer of SMK for you.  

My little baby webcomic is 1 year old folks! I have a little toddler webcomic on my hands!  I’m really glad that we are all getting to know each other better this year and I am super psyched for more SMK since I have about 4 years worth planned out.  If I’m really lucky, I will have time to knock out a big ol’ chunk and maybe move to 2 pages a week? Let me know who you’d feel about that.

Ok, Spider-verse, you’ve seen it, right? This is probably your last week to see it in theaters, so go, now, today! It’s amazing and I can’t recommend it enough, but if you want to listen to me try, my podcast Pop!Whiz!Bang! gives it a go here. 

The Haunting of Hill House also gets giant accolades from me, I really loved it and the weird thing it was doing which I can only describe as sampling a franchise like you would a song? Like, visual elements from the many film incarnations of ‘The Haunting of Hill House”, big hunks of the text re-purposed as dialogue, ideas re-contextualized, all to make something different and unique and brilliant. 

Lastly! Spring con season is looming and so far I will be at DiNK and the Alaska Robotics Mini-Con and Comics Camp. I am thrilled about both and holding my breath waiting to hear on a few other shows. I’ll let you know when they pop up!

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Limetown, Up First, Philosophize This!, My Brother, My Brother, and Me, The Adventure Zone (Balance Arc), Writing Excuses, 

Music-Caroline Rose, Haley Hendrickx, The Tallest Man on Earth, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse soundtrack, Daniel Pemberton-Spider-verse and King Arthur score, Animal Collective, Dry The River, Shakey Graves, Unbuttoned, Charly Bliss

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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Non- SMK update today and I apologize for the spotty-ness at the end of the year.  I have pages ready to go for you and by next week, I will have even more pages and we should be solidly off to the races again.  In the meantime, I thought I’d upload some images from a full-color project I’ve mentioned here several times that I just inked the last page of this week. The bad fella has been on the docket for over a year and is just now seeing the light of day and I’m really pleased and proud that James Meadows let me illustrate the project based on his music.  I love the tracks, I know you will too when you hear them. 

In other news! I continue to keep being a human, but it’s always a little challenge.  I’ve been sleeping more than usual and eating terribly and that is something I need to alter, because I always feel better when I take care of my body.  Maybe we can do it together, if you need a push. I’ll try to keep you updated on the changes I make. 

Also: Into the Spiderverse. I know you’ve seen it. If not, please go see it on the biggest available screen. It’s wonderful and special and rocked my mind.  How in the world it isn’t pushing the $400 million mark I cannot imagine, but it’s worth your time in and of itself. 

Lastly: Music!  This week I listened to T-Rextasty, Oh Land, David Bowie, Marian Call, Molly Lewis, The Scary Jokes, The Roches, Beaten to Death, GUNSHIP, Natasha Kahn, Alice Glass, and Karen Dalton.   I’d really felt in a rut, so it’s wonderful to get a big burst of diversity in the mix, both older and newer releases. Karen Dalton is especially wonderful. 

Have a wonderful day! Screaming Mimi Kids returns next week and I can’t wait for you to see where we are headed in 2019!

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PAGE 55- Blog Post Coming Soon! Happy Holidays!

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  

Music-

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 54- SPIDERVERSE. GO SEE IT. Cannot praise it enough, I fucking loved it and I hope you do too. 

Very close to having a ‘normal’ feeling routine back, but still not quite there. Holidays, you bane on normalcy. Nah, it’s good for things to be different, it makes time move more slowly.  This has been the longest-feeling year in many years and I blame that on the giant upheavals that we’ve all seen and experienced. 

Into the Spiderverse tho.....seriously. 

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  All Songs Considered, Limetown, My Brother, My Brother, and Me, How Did This Get Made, Switchblade Sisters, Writing Excuses

Music- Post Malone, Camp Cope, Katy Perry Miya Folick, Daniel Pemberton, Peter Gabriel, Charly Bliss

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 53- Hiii! Glad to be back and getting new Screaming Mimi Pages out to you! I am healthy, which is great.  It is a land of sickness where I am, roving flu’s of various types piggy-backing from person to person.  But I’m done with that business. 

We have continued to put off seeing stuff we really want to in the theater but between ‘Into the Spiderverse’ and ‘Mary Poppins’ I think we are going to wreck the non-spending momentum. I love going to the theater and miss it dearly. 

It’s also time for everyone’s end-of-the-year/best-of music lists which means I get to discover a whole ton of music that I completely missed throughout the year.  Some of it I’ve at least heard of, just didn’t listen to, but most of it just sailed completely by me.  Man, it has been a solid year for music.

Go listen to my podcast! http://soundcloud.com/pwbpod

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Limetown, How Did This Get Made, Writing Excuses, My Brother, My Brohter, and Me, Up First, Philosophize This!

Music- Tierra Whack, Lucy Dacus, Mothman, Tom Adams, Low, Manchester Orchestra with The Front Bottoms, Princess Nokia, Miya Folick, Mac Miller, and more, but I can’t remember it all right now. Maybe I’ll do my own list. 

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 52- 

So last week, I was sick and had to cancel a con appearance and you might have noticed this page went up without a blog post last week! Silly of me, but I think I am going to wait on a new page until next week.  Sorry to make you wait, but there is plenty more coming and you can always scope out that deer again! Or Seth’s face, pretty good huh? Yeaaaahahhhhh.

Next week I’ll full-on the blog post and put up the new page- we approaching one year of Screaming Mimi Kids by the way!

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Limetown, Happyface, Philosophize This!, How Did This Get Made

Music- Miya Folick and some more. Mostly sleepy though. 

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 51- Rainy and cold and grey. So, heaven.  Seriously, I love the wintry weather and have been dressing like I just came in from a ship off the Maritimes.  It is good good weather.  

If you haven’t been listening to my podcast about comic theory and process, I would suggest hopping in on the newest one because we talk about ‘Beautiful Darkness’ by  Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet and its an amazing book and we have a very good time talking about it.  We also have episodes on panels and layouts, scripting, and other books like Vera Brosgol’s ‘Be Prepared’, ‘Locke and Key’, and ‘Sheets’ by Brenna Thummler. 

http://soundcloud.com/pwbpod or look for Pop!Whiz!Bang! on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Stitcher.

Today we are going to go see the new Fantastic Beasts movie....we have a free ticket, so that makes it a little more attractive.  I dunno. I’ll tell you my thoughts next week. More new pages coming!

I am also reading ‘Rickety Stitch and the Middle Route Run’ which I highly recommend, if you’ve read the first comic (which I also recommend.)

Go read something new! Watch something uncomfortable, listen to something different!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Philosophize This!, LeVar Burton Reads, Writing Excuses, Happy Face, All Songs Considered, The Greatest Generation, Star Trek the Next Conversation

Music- Tom Adams, Santigold, Lia Ices, Peter Gabriel, Arcade Fire, Dirty Projectors, Kate Bush, Ambulance LTD, Kids See Ghosts, Meg Baird, Hamilton Soundtrack

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 50- New pages! New-new as opposed to old-new! This is definitely the lowest my buffer has ever been since I started Screaming Mimi Kids almost a year ago, but I think I will get back up soon.  I may have to take a hiatus in 6 months to polish out that back end of the scripts but I am hoping I can get enough buffer out that I will build the time in.  

We just saw ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ which I wish I could have watched with just the score on.  I enjoyed the production deisgn, the sets were great, makeup and costumes were fun and there was a great ballet sequence, but the writing left....much to be desired. One day, some rando will be criticizing my stuff on their webcomic blogs and I will be thrilled. 

I really suggest the new Tom Adams album ‘Yes, Sleep Well Death’ if you are into Sigur Ros or any other epic thing, cause it’s really great driving/working/showering/contemplating music. 

Have a great day! Read something new, watch something uncomfortable, listen to something unexpected!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Writing Excuses, My Brother, My Brother, and Me, Up First, Switchblade Sisters, All Songs Considered

Music- Tom Adams, Interpol, Stephen Steinbrink, Regina Spektor, Jon Bellion, Stars, Dan Mangan

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 49- Hello! The holiday season is upon is, perched on our shoulders, driving us slowly to the ground. Nah, I’m joking.  We host Thanksgiving at our house and genuinely enjoy it and Christmas is....fine. It’s unavoidable, so you make peace. New Year’s is a party though. 

This is the first page of issue 4- so its totally new, never-before-seen, even if you’ve bought the physical copies.  The next couple pages I am experimenting with different watercolor papers, so you may notice a slight difference in the look.  But maybe not too. In college I stuck to oil paint as much as I could, so all I know is canvas.  Watercolor paper is a totally new thing and I am mind-blown by how different the pages can look.  Just about every aspect of actually putting the ink wash down is affected by the kind and quality of the paper but I’m not sure how visible it will be to folks that aren’t me? 

If you want to here @meggietheramm and I opine about paper, keeps your eyes peeled on our podcast Pop!Whiz!Bang! because down the line we have a paper episode.  For right now, our newest episode is about Vera Brosgol’s book ‘Be Prepared. Click the links, subscribe to the thing, leave an iTunes rating- we’ll love you for it. 

I hope your holiday season is full of holiday movies, something I genuinely love in an aspirational way.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all have cathartic nights and be tranformed into more loving, open people?

Lastly- PLEASE VOTE! Voting is so important, especially in your midterm and local elections.  It’s easy to feel disillusioned but each vote keeps your priorities in the minds of the electorate. Never let your voice disappear- vote it up!

Read something new this week, listen to something uncomfortable, watch something new!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  On Being, Switched on Pop, Dr. Death, Happy Face, My Brother, My Brother and Me, Up First, Ongoing History of New Music, History of Philosophy with No Gaps

Music- Dan Mangan, Zola Jesus, Julia Holter, Cass McCombs, Perfume Genius, Joanna Newsom, King Princess, Ministry, The Cure, Perfume Genius, Calvin Locklear, Laura Gibson, Graphic Novel TK

Follow Me

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Twitter: @plutarian_2

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PAGE 48- It’s been a long weekend my dudes! Not like...an extra day or anything, but just feeling long.  Anywho- this is the last page in this run and the next updates will be brand new, never-before-seen kinda pages. There are so many good things coming up, I hope you are into it!

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Meggie Ramm and I’s podcast, I hope you get some time to listen in, especially if you are making your own comics.  We talk about the theory and process behind comics and about books we are reading.  

https://soundcloud.com/pwbpod

Have a great week! Read something new, listen to something uncomfortable, read something unexpected!

What I’m Listening To

Podcasts-  Dr. Death, My Brother, My Brother, and Me, Happy Face, How Did This Get Made, Up First

Music- Nightmare and the Cat, Robyn, Laura Gibson, Calvin Locklear, Typhoon, Papercuts, Arcade Fire, The Shins

Follow Me

Instagram: Plutarian_2

Twitter: @plutarian_2